Sony Vaio SVS13 / SVS15 series - Overclocking BIOS

[svl7]

 

Sony Vaio SVS13 / SVS15 series - overclocking BIOS for GT 640m LE users

The Nvidia GT640m LE ("Kepler") which can be found in the Sony Vaio SVS13 series has an incredible overclocking potential. Unfortunately this is very limited due to VBIOS restrictions.

This modified BIOS version will help you to unlock the full power of your GPU. The increased default clocks (3d) gives you additional performance without having to use any additional tools, but it als unlocks the software overclocking limit so you can go beyond the usual +135MHz limit when using software like Nvidia Inspector or similar, so you can push your GPU even further.

NOTE: Since it seems that the boost function doesn't even work properly with the stock Sony BIOS, I decided to set the boost and default clock to the same level to avoid confusion about the non-working boost.

This GPU runs incredibly low even with an impressive overclock, nevertheless I have to advice you to make sure your temperatures are okay, maybe slightly lift the system in the back to improve the airflow of reapply the thermal paste.

 

Mods based on Sony Vaio SVS series BIOS R0142C5:

 

- Overclocking edition:

 

• 735 MHz core / 1000 MHz memory - Sony Vaio SVS series
• 835 MHz core / 1000 MHz memory - Sony Vaio SVS series
• 950 MHz core / 1000 MHz memory - Sony Vaio SVS series

 

- undervolting edition:

 

• To be announced, let me know if you're interested.

 

Instructions are included, refer to the READ ME file. Please provide feedback and leave a comment.

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F.A.Q.:

 

• Why do I need to flash the BIOS in order to get higher clocks? Isn't the VBIOS responsible for the GPU settings?
  Answer:

   

  Spoiler

  The GPU is soldered to the motherboard, its VBIOS is part of the BIOS, the only way to update it, is by flashing the BIOS

   

• How can I revert to the original BIOS?
  Answer:

   

  Spoiler

  Just download the original BIOS from the support site and flash it.

   

• What exactly got changed compared to the original BIOS?
  Answer:

   

  Spoiler

  Unless otherwise stated I only touched the VBIOS, this means the BIOS itself is exactly the same as the one from the Dell support site. The only difference you'll notice are the higher GPU clocks or other tweaks I've made, depending on the version you use.

   

 

***************************************************************

Remember, you are responsible for the changes you make on your system, flash at your own risk.

 

 

[Supranium]

I registered just to say THANK YOU!

And ask for 1.05v gpu, 1100core/1000memory mhz bios.

Please.

[Amal Daharin Mahamood]

I registered just to say THANK YOU!

And ask for 1.05v gpu, 1100core/1000memory mhz bios.

Please.

Hahaha... yeah, please do!

[Novokaine]

hello

as i promised i test and screen your 950 Mhz mod :

as you can see on the screenshot i boost the GPU at max in Nvidia Inspector it was applied but not used !!!

the benchmark show the gap between the 2 Version of the graphic card ^^

i test the mod during 2 hours on need for speed the run at 1600*900 max options on my SVS13P and it works like a charm , no supplementary throttling ,no heating and no bug !!!

very great job svl7

PS: maybe the OC by Nvidia inspector is considered as the boost ability you have disabled in the Vbios

PS2: sorry for my english i'm French

[svl7]

Thank you!!

Yes, when first testing the BIOS I realized that the boost doesn't even work properly at stock clocks (it never went up to the maximum), and at higher clocks it didn't boost at all. So I decided to just set it to the same level in order to not confuse the users... else a lot of them would ask why the boost doesn't work.

At the moment I can't do anything to get the boost to work,

[Supranium]

Have you figured out, how to change voltage in bios?

I did quite a bit of testing with 950mhz bios. GPU barely gets in to 70s in stress test. It can surely handle around +0.1v voltage increase and 1050 or 1100 mhz gpu clock.

My 640LE memory can handle 1100mhz, but probably some cant. Memory can be later overclocked with AB or similar tool, so it can be left to 1000mhz in bios.

Im willing to test out the new bios versions, if you could make them.

[svl7]

Yes, I can change the voltage, I'll post here when I find time do prepare a mod.

[Supranium]

I ran some stress tests on 1100memory and got few artifacts. However 1075mhz memory was clear and stable. So if you would do like 1050/1050 core/memory bios, it would be just awesome. Estimated voltage from 0.925 to 1.025 or 1.05 will be enough.

Could use 1100/1050 core memory bios, with core voltage being 1.075v as well, please.

I also wonder, if theres any indication of memory voltage being defined in bios. We are running Samsung k4w2g1646c-hc11 GDDR3 chips, which are 1.5v (+- 0.075) 933mhz by default.

GDDR3 should hold up easy 1.7v and perhaps with this voltage we could achieve around 1200ish clocks.

[svl7]

"11" corresponds to 900MHz if I'm not mistaken, so the problem is that a lot of people won't be stable at 1050. I'm trying to keep the mods a bit general so that it's stable on as much systems as possible. I'll see what I can do.

I don't know of any vram voltage setting in the Nvidia vbios, I don't even know whether your vram modules could run on a different voltage, I've never seen the circuitry of this system.

You seem to know the exact vram chips they used, so I guess you already disassembled the notebook... do you have some closer pics of the board? If you find the VR of the vram you could possibly figure out a pencil mod to slightly increase the voltage.

[Supranium]

I have pics from the back side of the board. CPU and GPU are facing bottom of the notebook and its extremely hard to access them. Need to disamble the entire notebook to do that. I gave it a try yesterday, but i failed to do it since i could not locate the point where it was stuck. I cant see GDDDR3 controller on the bottom of MB. So it must be on the same side where GPU and CPU are.

[Supranium]

Looks like i can not answer you since some moderator is deleting my messages.

[Michael]

Looks like i can not answer you since some moderator is deleting my messages.

your posts are being moderated according to forum rules. once you get to 5 posts you will be able to post freely.

[Supranium]

your posts are being moderated according to forum rules. once you get to 5 posts you will be able to post freely.

OK. Np. I was suspecting that first message was deleted since it took long to appear.

Thanks for explanation.

[Supranium]

Bump for request.

[svl7]

Increased voltage, 1100MHz 3d clocks, 1000 memory

Let me know how well it works, not all cards seem to allow increasing the voltage.

[Supranium]

Hey,

Unfortunately i have bad news.

According to GPU-Z sensor log, voltage never exceeds 0.925v. So no change here. Starting 3DM11 results with BSOD. Starting MSI Kombustor stress test, results with program exit.

Obviously GPU cant handle 1.1GHz @ 0.925v if stressed.

Is it possible that you missed something in bios which was left unchanged?

Amal77, in notebookforums, managed to change voltage to 0.95v, but according to him, the 1100mhz was still unstable. I have no idea, why he didnt give GPU a higher voltage, like 1.025 or something similar. Perhaps there are physical limits prohibiting this.

Thanks for a try. Too bad, it did not work.

[jediarts]

- undervolting edition:

• To be announced, let me know if you're interested.
  

I've tried the 735MHz, it works great, still raises the temperature compared to stock.

Under-volt edition would be great if you could do it.

Could you make a version (even if it's no undervolted) that's 625Core/900RAM? (or even 732Core/900RAM)

[svl7]

Should be possible, though no idea whether it will be stable. What's the currently reported voltage? 0.925v?

[jediarts]

Should be possible, though no idea whether it will be stable. What's the currently reported voltage? 0.925v?

0.850 at idle, 0.925v at load. (maybe you could try 0.9v or 0.9125v at load) (625Core/900RAM at 0.9v maybe?)

[Amal Daharin Mahamood]

Hey,

Unfortunately i have bad news.

According to GPU-Z sensor log, voltage never exceeds 0.925v. So no change here. Starting 3DM11 results with BSOD. Starting MSI Kombustor stress test, results with program exit.

Obviously GPU cant handle 1.1GHz @ 0.925v if stressed.

Is it possible that you missed something in bios which was left unchanged?

Amal77, in notebookforums, managed to change voltage to 0.95v, but according to him, the 1100mhz was still unstable. I have no idea, why he didnt give GPU a higher voltage, like 1.025 or something similar. Perhaps there are physical limits prohibiting this.

Thanks for a try. Too bad, it did not work.

I've tried with 1.000v, 3DMark11 finishes the benchmark on 1100MHz Core 900MHz Memory.

OC memory to 1050MHz, not stable, it hang.

Need some more test I guess.

Wondering whether it is worth it to OV to achieve extra 100MHz on core.

[architekth]

Hi,

I have a Sony Vaio SVS15 with i5 3210M, 640M LE 2gb, 4Go RAM... I have downloaded the 950Mhz version but i can't flash the bios with WBFLASH.exe

When i click on it, a message box popup saying : "This bios has been updated. it is not necessary to make an update." (i'm french, sorry i use google translate).

What can i do?

[srps]

Use the InsydeFlash utility that comes with the download, that one works without problems.

[saluke]

I ran wbflash.exe and it says bios is current and does not need an update. Does it mean my BIOS can be overclocked? I just got my svs15 from sony last week btw.

I've used the InsydeFlash utility and did not find any changes done to the BIOS. Is there a certain screen that I should be looking at?

[srps]

It is not the wbflash.exe, it's the InsydeFlash.exe

It does the patching by itself, you just have to wait until it finishes its job and then restart the PC.

[chh723]

Does anyone know how to enable 2nd SATA drive on the SVS15? I just installed a mSATA SSD in my SVS1511AGXB with InsydeH2O R0142C5 BIOS but it still reads "None" beside the 2nd SATA Disk Drive. Does this BIOS MOD unlock any options other than GPU?